Regulating valve



Jan. 12, 1937. s. J. RovlNsKY REGULATING VALVE Filed Sept. 7, 1955INVENTOR. Jia/niej Jjfow'rzs@ ovm...

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Jan. l2, `1937 UNITED STATES BEGULATING vALvE Stanley J.Rovinsky, Menominee, Mich., assign to Ransom A Application September 6Claims.

The present invention relates to devices for regulating or adjusting theilow of fluids or the like, and more particularly to such devices as areconstructed to provide a relatively high degree of regulating accuracy.v v It is anobject'of the present invention to provide a device forregulating the flow of fluids or the like which provides a highlyaccurate regulating action throughout the entire regulating range.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a device forregulating the ilow of uids or the like embodying relatively movablemembers, and in which the variation in flow is nonlinear With respect tothe movement of such members.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a device forregulating the ilow of fluids or the like, embodying relatively movablemembers, and in which the variation in flow may bear any desirednon-linear relation to the movement of such members. y

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a device forregulating the ilowv of fluids or the like, embodying a body member anda rotatable member supported in cooperative relation thereto, and havinga groove formed therein to control the volume of flow through the devicein response to rotation of said members.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a device of thelast mentioned character in which the groove is so formed as to eiect anon-linear variation in said ilow with respect to movement of therotatable member.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a device havingcharacteristics of the type mentioned above and which may beconveniently adapted for either the direct control or the mixing ordistribution of fluids or the like.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a regulatingdevice embodying characteristics such as mentioned above, and which mayconveniently be adapted for either manual or .automatic control.

' It is also an object of the'present invention to provide a device forregulatingthe flow of' invention appear in the following description andv ln the appended claims.

H. Beman 1, 193s, sei-ua Ne. assosl (ci. 251-92) pose of regulating theilow of fluids or the likel in various systems. Fundamentally, thesystems involve either regulation or variation of the fluid head orpressure, regulation of the resistance to flow, as by varying theorifice size, or a comblnation of both of these principles. Inconsidering the improvement. to which the present invention isparticularly directed, iluid regulating devices may be classified as forthe control of relatively iow rates of iow at'relatively high pressures,for the control of relatively low rates of flow at relatively lowpressures, and for thecontrol of relatively high rates of flow at highpressures.

Previously developed flow regulators are found to be relativelysatisfactory for the control of relatively low rate's of ow atrelatively low pressures, and for Ythe control of relatively high ratesof iiow at relatively high pressures. Practical limitations ofmanufacturing accuracy and design, however, have made it difllcultheretofore to secure a satisfactory method for the regulation of lowrates of ow at high pressures, and the present invention is directedtothe provision of a ilow regulator particularly adapted for thispurpose. As will appear more fully hereinafter, however, a constructionembodying the present invention is equally well adapted for the controlof low ratesof flow at low pressures and high .rates of flow at highpressures.

In accordance with the present invention, the ow regulator is soconstructed that the variation in flow is non-linear with respect to themovement of the regulating member of the device. In accordance with thisprinciple, as the ilow regulation approaches critical points, the degreeof variation in now per unit of movement of the regulating member isreduced. Relatively high accuracy'of control at critical points over aregulating range is thus possible, since relatively large movements of aregulating member may be accompanied by relatively minute variations inflow. As will appear more fully hereinafter, this modulation of theregulating action may be introduced throughout any desired portion ofthe regulating range and any desired non-linear relationship may beprovided in a relatively slmple manner. As will also be apparentfromfurther description, the present invention may conveniently beutilized invv a wide variety of regulatving applications, illustrativeapplications including the direct control of ilow. or the mixing ordistribution of a plurality ofiiows. The control also may be effectedeither manually or automatically, in accordance with illustratedembodiments of the present invention.

The preferred constructionv ofthe present invention comprises a valveembodying a body member having a central opening which communicateswiththe exterior of the body through one or more ports. A rotatableregulating member is received within the opening, and is provided withan exterior groove or opening selectively registrable along its lengthwith the above mentioned port, in accordance with rotation of therotatable member. The groove is of varying area. so that the flow isincreased .or decreased in response to rotation of the rotatable memberin one direction or the other.

The non-linear variation in ilow, with respect to rotation of therotatable member, is introf duced by forming the groove so that as themember is rotated, the volume of the groove between cooperating parts,varies sinusoidally and`V nonlinearly. As illustrated, the groove isarcuate, and eccentrically positioned with respect to the rotatablemember. With this arrangement, and depending upon the degree ofece'entricity, a .ow regulation characteristic is provided in which theow is substantially linear throughout the intermediate portions of therange, but attens oi substantially as the limits of the range areapproached.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2,.and considering the abovementioned elements in more detail, the device comprises generally a.body I0, a regulating member I2 and a. plurality of inlet or outletports I4. The body I0 is generally circular in cross section, and isprovided with an enlarged lower portion which is hollowed oui'l toprovide a circular opening I6, within which the regulating member I2 isrotatably received.

The shank I8, which, as illustrated, is formed` integrally with theregulating member I2, extends through the relatively restricted opening20 in member Ill, and through a suitable packing gland 22,.packing ring24, and retaining ring 26, which is threaded into body member I0. ShankI8 may be arranged for rotation in any desired manual or automaticmanner, a simple manually rotatable handle 28 being illustrated assecured at the upper end of shank I8 by a screw 30.

An end plate 32, having an inwardly extending cylindrical shoulder 34 ofsubstantially the diameter of opening I6, is iitted over the lower endlof body I0 and is secured thereto in any suitable manner as by studs 36.If desired, a suitable gasket such as 38 may be interposed between bodyI0 and end plate 32.

The ports I4, the number and spacing of which around the circumferenceof body I0 is determined in accordance with the application to which theregulator is to be put, communicate with suitable intake and outputlines 40 through nipples 42 which are threaded into body It).

As illustrated, the regulating groove 44 is cut directly into thesurface of regulating member I2. As shown, the width of groove 44 issubstantially equal to the diameter of ports I4. Although the variationin depth cf groove 44 may be'modulated in any desired way throughout itslength in accordance with the desired variation in flow, I prefer toform groove 44 as the arc of a circle,

eccentrically located with respect to the axis of regulating member I2.As illustrated, the maximum depth of groove 44 is equal to substantiallytwice the eccentricity and occurs at the midpoint oi' the groove. Thedepth progressively decreases as the ends oi the groove are approached.The groove extends only partially around member I2, leaving a certainuncut area of the latter.

As will be obvious from Fig. 2, regulating member ,I2 may be rotated ineither direction to a position in which groove I2 is entirely out ofregistration with any one of the ports I4, thus eiectively closing offsuch selected port. Rotation of regulating member I2 in either directionfrom such closed position moves groove 44 linto registration with suchclosed off port, permitting ow between inlet and outlet ports I4 throughgroove 44. Further rotation of member I2 gradually increases the flow.Accordingly, considering any two ports I4r the flow through the devicemay be regulated from zero flow to maximum ow by such rotation.

As also shown in Fig. 2, the device may be used to divide apredetermined flow between a plurality of ports in any predeterminedratio or to provide a mixing of a plurality of ilows in anypredetermined ratio. Considering all three of the ports shown in Fig. 2and with the parts in the illustrated position, the two horizontal portsI4 are in registration with grooves 44 at points of equal depth.Accordingly, the flow through such horizontal ports is equal `andcombine to constitute the ow through the vertical port I4. Rotation ofregulating member I2 in either direction increases the iiow through onehorizontal port I4 and decreases the flow through the other horizontalport I4, since the depth of groove 44 at the point in registration withsuch ports is thereby varied. As illustrated, such rotation alsorestricts the total llow through the vertical port I4. As will beobvious, the variation in ratio thus provided between the flow throughthe horizontal ports, as well as the variation in flow through thevertical port, depends upon the conguration of groove 44, and the degreeof rotationof member I2.

As illustrative of the use of the regulating device of the presentinvention in connection with automatically controlled regulation, Fig. 3embodies a conventional thermally responsive element 5I) a portion ofwhich is slidably received in a slot 52 formed at the upper end of shankI8. 'Ihe other end of element 50 is secured to an enclosure 54 by asuitable stud 56. Housing 54 is secured to a body portion 58 by one ormore studs such as 58.

The interior of body I0 is sealed from the interior of body portion-,.60by a sealing ring 66, the edges of which are apertured to permit passagetherethrough of securing` studs 62, and the central portion of which isprovided with a depending sealing gland 68, the lower edges of whichbear against a shoulder l0 formed at the base oi' shank I8. A spring 12,seated between sealing ring 66 and a retaining ring 14 which is threadedinto the upper portion of member 60, continuously urges ring 66 intosealing relationship with shoul-y The resulting rotation of shank y Aswill be obvious from the foregoing, the maximum ow is determined inaccordance with the volume of the groove between an inlet and an outletport, and the variation in ow is determined by the configuration of thegroove throughout its length. A wide range of variation in now isaccordingly possible in the practice of the present invention bysuitably varying the maximum depth of the groove, and any desiredmodulation in flow throughout the operating range is available bysuitably forming the groove contour. I prefer to form the groovearcuately and to eccentrically position it with respect to theregulating member because of the desirable regulating characteristics ithas thus been found to provide, and because of the relative ease ofmanufacture of a unit embodying a groove of this form. Figs. 4 and 5 areillustrative` of the operating characteristics of the illustratedarcuate and eccentrically formed groove. As shown in Fig. 5, the centersof regulating member I2 and of groove 44 are spaced apart a distance d,thus providing a groove of depth d1. The depth of groove d1 variesprogressively from a maximum to zero. Zero flow'corresponds to a valueof the displacement angle A within a limited range above or below 180,andvmaximum flow corresponds to a displacement angle A of 0 or of 360.In Fig. 5 each curve -80 represents the variations in groove depth asthe displacement angle A is varied progressively through a 360 cycle.The ordinate value of eachl curve 80 at the zero and 360 points,corresponds, as will be understood, to the maximum groove depth d1,andaswill be obvious, any desired regulating range is thus available bysuitably evaluating the groove depth.

. It will be noted that in each of the characteristic curves, the curveslope attens oi as each limiting position is approached. Thischaracteristic provides relatively minute variations in ow correspondingto relatively large angular rotations of the regulating member I2 assuch limiting positions are approached, and provides a highly accurateregulating action without requiring extreme accuracy in the angularrotation of the regulating member. This attening out of the vflowcharacteristic is particularly desirable as mentioned previously, inconnection with the controlof low rates of ow at high pressure, but hasbeen found to be useful also in the control of other ow characteristics.As also illustrated by the curve of Fig. 5, while the groove may beformed to provide a gradual variation in flow from a maximum to a zeroflow, it will also be obvious that the-groove may be limited to `controlonly an intermediate variation in flow.

Although specic embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed, it will be evident that various modifications may be made inthe form, number. and arrangement of parts without departing from thespirit and scope of the present invention. The described embodiments,accordingly,are to be considered in an illustrative, and not in alimiting, sense.

What I claim is: v,

1. A devicel for regulating the flow of uids or the like comprising acasing having ports, arotary member within and snugly ttingthe wall ofthe casing and having a circumferential groove in its.

peripheral surface and located in the plane of the ports, said groovehaving a constant width throughout its length at the surface of therotary member and having a circular base which is eccentric to saidsurface, and means for turning the rotary member.

2. A device for'regulating the flow of iluids or the like comprising acasing having ports, a rotary member within and snugly fitting the wallof the casing and having a circumferential groove in its peripheralsurface and located in the plane of the ports, said groove having aconstant width throughout its length at the surface of the rotary memberand having a cylindrical base which is eccentric to said surface, andsubstantially equal in width to the width of the groove at the surfaceof the rotary member, and means for turning the rotary member.

3. A device for regulating the flow of fluids or the like comprising acasing having ports, a rotary member within and snugly fitting the wallof the casing and having a circumferential groove in its peripheralsurface and located in the plane of the groove being cylindrical andeccentric to the periphery of the rotary member and having its endsmerging with the peripheral surface of the rotary member at the junctionof the arc of curvature of the base with the arc of curvature of theperipheral surface of the rotary member, and an outer member snuglyreceiving the rotary member and having a plurality of portssubstantially equal in width to that of the groove and located in theplane of the latter.

5. A device for regulating the flow of fluids or the like.comprising ano uter casing member and an inner member rotatable relatively and havingtheir adjacent peripheral surfaces closely fitting, one of the membershaving circumferentially spaced ports in its peripheral surface and theother having a circumferential groove in its peripheral surface and inthe plane of the ports, said groove having a circular base eccentric tothe surfaces, and the cross-sectional area of the groove varyingsinusoidally along its length from one end thereof to the other and thevariation of said area between the deepest part of the groove and theparts of least depth including a major substantially linear variation.

6.*A device for regulating the ilow of fluids or the like comprisinginner and outer relatively rotary members, circumferentially spacedports in the outer member, the inner member having a circumferentialgroove in its surface and located in the plane of the ports with thewidth of the groove at such surface substantially constant throughoutits length and substantially equal toV the width of the ports, the areaof transverse sections of the groove varying progressively along STANLEYJ. ROVINSKY.

